ABSTRACT
Regionalism as a historic phenomenon that proposes integrating states not only economically but also politically and socially in order to increase their negotiating capacity and drive their development has gone through a fundamental change in Latin America. The obvious decline of the USA as the single hegemonic world power that emerged after the Cold War implies a fundamental change in the international order. Its economy has suffered visible deterioration as a consequence of irresponsible financial speculation and decadent capitalism. The USA did not seem to understand that precisely by addressing and strengthening these proprietary matters for Latin America they could be instrumental in diminishing the impact of those themes that are of greatest concern for Washington. De Lombaerde and Garay regard with benevolence the 'ambiguous' position of Washington regarding the new South American regionalism in as much as 'sometimes they support it, and other times they prefer bilateral or multilateral instruments' for their negotiations.
